Automotive barrier net

ABSTRACT

A barrier net replaces the metal bulkhead between the passenger and trunk compartments of an automobile. The barrier net comprises flexible, substantially inelastic webbing. The webbing is formed of a plurality of vertical, spaced straps and a plurality of horizontal, spaced straps traversing the vertical straps. The vertical strap is secured to the horizontal strap at each point where the two straps cross. The barrier net is attached in place between the passenger and trunk compartment. A variation of the barrier net includes an enlarged aperture formed in the webbing, the webbing aperture being situated such that it coincides with a selectively open space extending between the passenger and trunk compartments, with the space being adapted to receive oversized items extending from the trunk compartment into the passenger compartment.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation-in-part of co-pending application Ser. No.07/469,966 filed Jan. 25, 1990, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,026,231.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to barrier nets, and morespecifically to a barrier net which replaces the metal bulkhead in anautomobile between the trunk and passenger compartments.

2. Description of the Relevant Art

For the past several years, automobile manufacturers have strived tomake cars more fuel efficient while at the same time increasing thesafety standards. One of the ways in which fuel may be conserved is tomake the car lighter. Thus, alternative materials such as plastics havereplaced metal in many areas of the automobile.

However, as of yet, no suitable replacement has been found for theheavy, metal bulkhead between the trunk and passenger compartments ofthe standard automobile. Although many lighter materials exist, thesematerials cannot pass safety requirements since they cannot restraincargo in the trunk from entering the passenger compartment. The suitablereplacement materials that do exist are either cost prohibitive, or theyhave to be much wider than the standard sheet metal used and cannottherefore fit within the space constraints for a normal bulkhead.

Thus, it would be desirable to replace the metal bulkhead with a barriernet which is lightweight, yet strong enough to meet safety standards.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems by providing abarrier net at a trunk forward end and suspended between a passengercompartment and a trunk compartment of an automobile. The barrier netcomprises flexible, substantially inelastic webbing. The webbingcomprises a plurality of vertical, spaced straps, and a plurality ofhorizontal, spaced straps traversing the vertical straps. Means areprovided for securing the vertical strap to the horizontal strap at eachpoint where the two straps cross. Also provided are means for attachingthe barrier net to the forward end side walls.

In a second embodiment of the present invention, the barrier netcomprises flexible, substantially inelastic webbing. The webbingcomprises a plurality of vertical, spaced straps, and a plurality ofhorizontal, spaced straps traversing the vertical straps. Means areprovided for securing the vertical strap to the horizontal strap at eachpoint where the two straps cross. An enlarged aperture is formed in thewebbing, with the webbing aperture situated such that it coincides witha selectively open space extending between the passenger compartment andthe trunk compartment, the space being adapted to receive oversizeditems extending from the trunk compartment into the passengercompartment. Also provided are means for attaching the barrier net tothe forward end side walls.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent byreference to the following specification and to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a cutaway perspective view showing the barrier net in placebetween the trunk and passenger compartments of an automobile;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the barrier net with a mounting bracketattached to each side of the net;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view of the mounting bracket with a nut shownexploded from one of the screws;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the mounting bracket;

FIG. 5 is a cutaway perspective view showing the second embodiment ofthe barrier net in place between the trunk and passenger compartments ofan automobile; and

FIG. 6 is a front view of the second embodiment with a mounting bracketattached to each side of the net.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown an automobile having a car body10 with a passenger compartment 12 and a trunk compartment 14. Trunkcompartment 14 has a forward end 16. Forward end 16 has a top wall 18, abottom wall 20, and two side walls 22 extending upwardly and outwardlyfrom bottom wall 20. The barrier net of the present invention isdesignated generally as 24. Barrier net 24 is located at the trunkforward end 16 and is suspended between passenger compartment 12 andtrunk compartment 14.

Referring now to FIG. 2, barrier net 24 comprises flexible,substantially inelastic webbing 26. Webbing 26 may be made of anysuitable material such as a textile material, but in the preferredembodiment, webbing 26 is made from a reinforced multi-filamentpolypropylene or polyester. Webbing 26 comprises a plurality ofvertical, spaced straps 28. A plurality of horizontal, spaced straps 30traverse vertical straps 28. Means are provided for securing verticalstrap 28 to horizontal strap 30 at each point where the two strapscross. This securing means may be any suitable means such as stitching,riveting, or sonic welding. FIG. 2 shows stitching 32 securing thestraps.

Barrier net 24 can be any shape or configuration as long as it conformsto a space defined by the top 18, bottom 20 and side walls 22 of forwardend 16. In the preferred embodiment, barrier net 24 conforms to thisspace as shown in FIG. 2. A lower horizontal webbing strap 34 has alength less than that of a middle horizontal webbing strap 36, and themiddle horizontal webbing strap length is less than that of an upperhorizontal webbing strap 38. In this way, a plane containing the ends ofstraps 34, 36 and 38 would conform to upwardly and outwardly extendingside wall 22.

Means are provided for attaching barrier net 24 to the forward end sidewalls 22. This attaching means may comprise any suitable means. In thepreferred embodiment, an aperture 40 is formed in each end of each ofthe lower, middle and upper horizontal webbing straps, 34, 36 and 38respectively. A mounting bracket 42, as best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, hastwo ends and a middle, and an aperture 44 formed in each of the ends andthe middle of bracket 42. Brackets 42 may be made of any suitablematerial including a sheet metal, and in the preferred embodiment, thisbracket material is a rigid plastic.

The barrier net attaching means further comprises means, receivablethrough the bracket and webbing apertures, 44, 40 respectively, andthrough an aperture (not shown) in the forward end side wall 22, forattaching bracket 42 to webbing 26 and to the forward end side wall 22.This bracket attaching means may comprise any suitable means. In thepreferred embodiment, this means comprises a screw 46 and nut 48.

The barrier net may also comprise a separate means for keeping barriernet 24 taut. This may be accomplished simply by fitting the webbing 26exactly to the space requirements defined by the configuration of theforward end. Then, when net 24 is attached in place by brackets 42, thenet will be taut. However, this may also be done by any conventionaltensioning means.

A second embodiment of the barrier net is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6,designated generally as 24'. FIG. 5 shows an automobile having a carbody 10 with a passenger compartment 12 and a trunk compartment 14. Aselectively open space 50 extends between the passenger compartment 12and trunk compartment 14. Space 50 is adapted to receive oversized itemsextending from the trunk compartment 14 into passenger compartment 12.Examples of such oversized items could be skis 52, as depicted in FIG.5. Open space 50 may be any size or configuration, depending upon themake or model of a particular automobile. Open space 50 can beselectively opened or closed by any conventional means, depending on themodel of the car. One example of this would be as shown in FIG. 5, wherea middle portion between two bucket back seats is foldable down to openthe space. Other examples include the entire back seat folding down, asmall door opening, or any other suitable means to open the space 50between the trunk compartment 14 and passenger compartment 12.

Trunk compartment 14 has a forward end 16. Forward end 16 has a top wall18, a bottom wall 20 and two side walls 22 extending upwardly andoutwardly from bottom wall 20. Barrier net 24' is located at the trunkforward end 16 and is suspended between passenger compartment 12 andtrunk compartment 14.

Referring now to FIG. 6, barrier net 24' comprises flexible,substantially inelastic webbing 26. Webbing 26 may be made of anysuitable material such as a textile material, but as with the firstembodiment, webbing 26 is preferably made from a reinforcedmulti-filament polypropylene or polyester. Also, as in the firstembodiment, webbing 26 comprises a plurality of vertical, spaced straps28, as well as a plurality of horizontal, spaced straps 30 traversingvertical straps 28. Means are provided for securing vertical strap 28 tohorizontal strap 30 at each point where the two straps cross. Thissecuring means may be any suitable means, such as stitching, riveting orsonic welding. FIG. 6 shows rivets 54 securing the straps.

An enlarged aperture 56 is formed in webbing 26, with the webbingaperture 56 situated such that it coincides with the space 50 betweenthe trunk and passenger compartments, 14, 12, respectively. Enlargedaperture 56 may be formed in webbing 26 in any shape, configuration orlocation, as long as it coincides with space 50 when barrier net 24' isinstalled at the trunk compartment forward end 16. Enlarged aperture 56may be defined between two spaced webbing sections 58, 60, as shown inFIG. 6. The preferred embodiment shows these sections 58, 60 attached onthe top by upper horizontal webbing strap 38, and on the bottom by lowerhorizontal webbing strap 34. It is to be understood that sections 58, 60need not be mirror images of one another, nor need they be connected toeach other in any way--webbing sections 58, 60 could be totally separateand each attached separately in a conventional manner to the trunkcompartment forward end 16. Aperture 56 would then comprise the spacebetween the two sections 58, 60, after they are mounted in a particularautomobile.

Barrier net 24' can be any shape or configuration as long as its outerperimeter conforms to a space defined by the top 18, bottom 20 and sidewalls 22 of trunk forward end 16. In the second embodiment, theconfiguration of barrier net 24' is preferably that shown in FIG. 6. Alower horizontal webbing strap 34 has a length less than that of anupper horizontal webbing strap 38, and a middle horizontal webbing strap36 is divided into two sections, with one section on each side ofenlarged aperture 56. In this way, a plane containing the ends of straps34, 36 and 38 would conform to upwardly and outwardly extending sidewall 22.

The means for attaching barrier net 24' to the forward end side walls 22is as described above with the first embodiment, as are the means forkeeping barrier net 24' taut.

The barrier net 24, 24' of the present invention is extremelylightweight due to the use of the aforementioned webbing materials andthe plurality of spaces formed by using horizontal and vertical straps.The webbing is also strong enough to restrain a hundred pounds of cargoin the trunk area from entering the passenger compartment under crashtest conditions decelerating from 20 mph to a sudden stop of 0 mph.Barrier net 24 thus saves cost and weight on a vehicle while safelyrestraining cargo in the trunk area.

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been described indetail, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that thedisclosed embodiments may be modified. Therefore, the foregoingdescription is to be considered exemplary rather than limiting, and thetrue scope of the invention is that defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. In an automobile having a car body with a passenger compartment, a trunk compartment, and a selectively open space extending between the passenger compartment and the trunk compartment, the space adapted to receive oversized items extending from the trunk compartment into the passenger compartment, the trunk compartment having a forward end with a top wall, a bottom wall, and two side walls extending upwardly and outwardly from the bottom wall, the improvement comprising:a barrier net at the trunk forward end and suspended between the passenger compartment and the trunk compartment, the barrier net comprising:flexible, substantially inelastic webbing, the webbing comprising:a plurality of vertical, spaced straps; a plurality of horizontal, spaced straps traversing the vertical straps; and means for securing the vertical strap to the horizontal strap at each point where the two straps cross, wherein a plurality of apertures are formed between the secured vertical and horizontal spaced straps; and an aperture formed in the webbing, the webbing aperture being enlarged relative to the plurality of apertures, and being situated such that it coincides with the space between the trunk and passenger compartments; and means for attaching the barrier net to the forward end side walls.
 2. The barrier net as defined in claim 1 wherein the securing means comprises stitching.
 3. The barrier net as defined in claim 1 wherein the securing means comprises rivets.
 4. The barrier net as defined in claim 1 wherein the securing means comprises sonic welding.
 5. The barrier net as defined in claim 1 wherein the webbing is made from a reinforced multi-filament polypropylene.
 6. The barrier net as defined in claim 1 wherein the barrier net attaching means further comprises means for keeping the barrier net taut.
 7. The barrier net as defined in claim 1 wherein the webbing has a top, bottom and two sides which conform to a space defined by the forward end's top, bottom and side walls, and wherein the barrier net attaching means comprises:an aperture formed in each side of the webbing; a bracket having an aperture formed therein; means, receivable through the bracket and webbing apertures and through an aperture in the forward end side wall, for attaching the bracket to the webbing and to the forward end side wall.
 8. The barrier net as defined in claim 7 wherein the bracket is formed of a plastic.
 9. The barrier net as defined in claim 7 wherein the bracket is formed of a metal.
 10. The barrier net as defined in claim 7 wherein the bracket attaching means comprises a nut and a screw.
 11. In an automobile having a car body with a passenger compartment, a trunk compartment, and a selectively open space extending between the passenger compartment and the trunk compartment, the space adapted to receive oversized items extending from the trunk compartment into the passenger compartment, the trunk compartment having a forward end with a top wall, a bottom wall, and two side walls extending upwardly and outwardly from the bottom wall, the improvement comprising:a barrier net at the trunk forward end and suspended between the passenger compartment and the trunk compartment, the barrier net comprising:flexible, substantially inelastic webbing, the webbing comprising:a plurality of vertical, spaced straps; a plurality of horizontal, spaced straps traversing the vertical straps; and means for securing the vertical strap to the horizontal strap at each point where the two straps cross, wherein a plurality of apertures are formed between the secured vertical and horizontal spaced straps; wherein a lower horizontal webbing strap has a length less than that of an upper horizontal webbing strap, and a middle horizontal webbing strap is divided into two sections; an aperture formed in the webbing, the webbing aperture being enlarged relative to the plurality of apertures, and being situated such that it coincides with the space between the trunk and passenger compartments, with one middle strap section being on each side of the enlarged aperture; and means for attaching the barrier net to the forward end side walls, wherein the attaching means comprises:an aperture formed in each end of each of the lower, middle and upper horizontal webbing straps; two mounting brackets each having two ends and a middle, and an aperture formed in each of the ends and the middle of both brackets; a screw receivable through the bracket aperture, the strap aperture and an aperture in the forward end side wall; and a nut securing the screw to the forward end side wall.
 12. The barrier net as defined in claim 1 wherein the webbing further comprises two spaced sections, each section having the plurality of vertical and horizontal straps, and wherein the enlarged aperture is situated between the two webbing sections.
 13. The barrier net as defined in claim 12 wherein the securing means comprises rivets.
 14. The barrier net as defined in claim 12 wherein the webbing is made from a reinforced multi-filament polypropylene.
 15. The barrier net as defined in claim 12 wherein the barrier net attaching means further comprises means for keeping the barrier net taut.
 16. The barrier net as defined in claim 12 wherein the webbing has a top, bottom and two sides which conform to a space defined by the forward end's top, bottom and side walls, and wherein the barrier net attaching means comprises:an aperture formed in each side of the webbing; a bracket having an aperture formed therein; means, receivable through the bracket and webbing apertures and through an aperture in the forward end side wall, for attaching the bracket to the webbing and to the forward end side wall.
 17. The barrier net as defined in claim 16 wherein the bracket is formed of a plastic.
 18. In an automobile having a car body with a passenger compartment, a trunk compartment, and a selectively open space extending between the passenger compartment and the trunk compartment, the space adapted to receive oversized items extending from the trunk compartment into the passenger compartment, the trunk compartment having a forward end with a top wall, a bottom wall, and two side walls extending upwardly and outwardly from the bottom wall, the improvement comprising:a barrier net at the trunk forward end and suspended between the passenger compartment and the trunk compartment, the barrier net comprising:two, spaced, flexible, substantially inelastic, reinforced multi-filament polypropylene webbing sections, each webbing section comprising:a plurality of vertical, spaced straps; a plurality of horizontal, spaced straps traversing the vertical straps; and securing stitching through the vertical strap and the horizontal strap at each point where the two straps cross, wherein a plurality of apertures are formed between the secured vertical and horizontal spaced straps; wherein a lower horizontal webbing strap has a length less than that of an upper horizontal webbing strap, and a middle horizontal webbing strap is divided into two sections; and an aperture formed between the two webbing sections and bounded by side edges of the two webbing sections, and by the upper horizontal webbing strap and the lower horizontal webbing strap, the webbing aperture being enlarged relative to the plurality of apertures, and being situated such that it coincides with the space between the trunk and passenger compartments; an aperture formed in each end of each of the lower, middle and upper horizontal webbing straps; two plastic mounting brackets each having two ends and a middle, and an aperture formed in each of the ends and the middle of both brackets; a screw receivable through the bracket aperture, the strap aperture and an aperture in the forward end side wall; and a nut securing the screw to the forward end side wall. 